Our potential for good is matched by that of destruction. At any moment, change can fall on the world, people fight and die, and our comfortable lives can be lost to corrupt leaders. These are circumstances we can’t imagine, but places like this exist in the world today.

What if tomorrow brings that grave reality to us, and we wake to find our lives in flux, poverty and confusion? Perhaps humanity’s insatiable appetites drive us to the brink of survival where sanity is redefined and life, as we know it, changes forever.
Tomorrow, our lives could be very dark.

Dystopian tales take us to these lightless places where suffering is a daily chore. But they also show us that in the deepest part of the night, pitched against a backdrop of despair, a beam of hope will shine brighter than ever before. And in our darkest moments, it can show us the way back.

Follow 11 authors into 11 dystopian tomorrows, where the dark portions of our humanity have taken hold of today, where the fabric of society is torn and greed consumes us all. Follow us down a dark path.

No matter what anybody says, it’s pretty much a fact that people do judge books by their covers. And can you blame them? After all, book covers are an art in and of themselves these days – the beautiful images, illustration, and typography that are blasted across the internet pique our interest and drive our readers’ minds. The cover is a reader’s first impression of what your book will be like. It only takes a second for that instant connection to be made: Bad cover, bad book. Great cover, great book.

Now, that doesn’t always hold true, of course, since I myself have read plenty of incredible books with terrible covers, and vice versa. But it doesn’t change the fact that—especially as a self-published author—covers matter. And I knew from the get-go that I wanted the cover for TERRA to stand out, but still feel appropriate for the genre and would “fit in” with its traditionally-published book brethren. So here’s an exclusive scoop on what went into creating my debut novel’s cover.

One of the things that consistently surprises me when I write is how fond I grow of some characters, especially when they start out as little more than a nebulous concept. Contributor is no exception. When I was peopling the world, I thought a lot about Dara, her parents, her boyfriend, Jonathan, and her mentor, Letizia. I certainly gave consideration to the other characters as well, but this was the core group I focused on, and so imagine my surprise when I developed a major attachment to a couple of the characters I thought would just be minor players.

The first is Javier Gutierrez, one of Dara’s rivals for the position of Assistant to the Head of Engineering...

WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING, the YA Dystopian boxed set, is a collection of dark yet hopeful stories from eleven different authors. Each wrote a short essay on dystopian fiction calledMy Thoughts On Tomorrow, to introduce their novels. Here are excerpts from six of those essays, the full versions can be found at The Hunt For Tomorrow.

Meet The Dystoptomists: Shining Light on a Dark Future...

Goodreads - AmazonFollow 11 authors into 11 dystopian tomorrows, where the dark portions of our humanity have taken hold of today, where the fabric of society is torn and greed consumes us all. Follow us down a dark path.

Q: What was your inspiration for Among the Joyful?A: I happened to see an article about smile surgery, which is a real thing. Some young women in South Korea have a procedure done so that their default facial expression is a smile, no matter what they’re feeling. It made me think about the pressure we all feel at times to act like things are fine when they’re not, to present a happy appearance to the world no matter what’s going on inside. That was what prompted the idea for the world of Among the Joyful, where negative emotion has to be hidden if you want to be a functioning member of society.

Q: What makes Among the Joyful different from all the other YA dystopias out there?A: I wanted to create a dystopian society that could just as easily be described as utopian. The original founders weren’t setting out to oppress people—they wanted to make life better, and in many ways they succeeded. They created a culture where service to others is valued, where citizens contribute to the public good and take care not to have a negative impact on their community. Of course, there’s a price, and that’s where it gets interesting.

Have you written in any other genres besides ya dystopian? What drew you to you this genre?

I’ve been fascinated by consciousness, identity and what this all means since I was young. I would read my grandfather’s science fiction books with elements of artificial intelligence and wonder what happened when they died? I suppose that’s why all of my writing deals with the big mysteries of life in one way or another. In a way, I write for my own exploration, in a sort of thought experiment approach, pulling apart our identities, exploring what makes us who we are. If I lost my memories, would I still be me? If I had my body parts replaced with synthetic replications, at what point would I not be me? Do I even need a body? What am I?

A few years ago, I figured I’d write a romance novel. Since all of my books have a romantic element, I thought it would be fun. Halfway through the novel, I found myself thinking more and more about the next project—a dystopian idea. So 40,000 words in, I scrapped the romance novel and got back to what I love.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I’ve always wanted to be a back-up singer for some awesome artist. You’d get all the joy of meeting fun people and performing, but do not have to lose your freedom or worry about tabloids and paparazzi.

Who would play you in a film of your life?
Brad Pitt. It would be a really weird, concept movie.

Have you ever read or seen yourself as a character in a book or a movie?
All the time. Right now I’m pretty sure I’m Jessica Day from TV show The New Girl. But without the cute bangs. Man, I should really get some bangs.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes and NobleSixteen-year-old Riley Meemick is one of the world's last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the dwindling human race.

WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING, the YA Dystopian boxed set, is a collection of dark yet hopeful stories from eleven different authors. Each wrote a short essay on dystopian fiction called My Thoughts On Tomorrow, to introduce their novels.

Goodreads - AmazonFollow 11 authors into 11 dystopian tomorrows, where the dark portions of our humanity have taken hold of today, where the fabric of society is torn and greed consumes us all. Follow us down a dark path.

Tour-Wide Giveaway

Ends June 15th.

US Only Giveaway

Print copy of Terra + bookmarks

Print copies of Stitch & Shudder + bookmarks

Print copy of Among the Joyful

Internationally Open Giveaway

Amazon GC $15 (Megan) + $10 (Erin) + $10 (Samantha)

11 ecopies of What Tomorrow May Bring

Ebook of Terra

Ebooks of Stitch & Shudder

10 e-book copies of the complete Contributor trilogy, including book 3 (Kindle only)

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Addicted Readers receives ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies) from authors and publishers in exchange for an honest review. No compensation of any kind is exchanged. And every opinion express is my own and is not influenced in any way.